Andrew Cheng

Stories

Ex-Akero team takes an oral IL-23 pill public through NextCure merger

As of July 2026: Set to lead the combined company after closing

The team that built Akero Therapeutics and sold it to Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 billion has a second act. On Tuesday, their new startup, Avere Therapeutics, agreed to merge with struggling public biotech NextCure and raised $320 million to fund it.

Updated Jul 14